After a two-game slate to begin the season Tuesday, Wednesday presents a massive 12-game slate. DraftKings continues to offer huge contests for DFS players, and below, I break down some of my favorite NBA DFS options at each position for Wednesday’s NBA action.
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Guard
Stud
Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons at Chicago Bulls, $9,900
Cunningham looked excellent in the preseason, shooting 62.4% from the field and the guard should start his fifth year in the league with a huge performance Wednesday. The Pistons remain without Jaden Ivey (knee) and with the guard sidelined last season, Cunningham produced 52.1 FPTS per game with a 34.2% usage rate and 39.3% assist percentage.
Cunningham starts the season in a beautiful matchup vs. the Bulls, who ranked second in pace and 19th in defensive rating last season. Detroit carries the fourth-highest implied team total on the slate at 118.5 points on DraftKings Sportsbook and when playing behind an implied team total of at least 118 points last season, Cunningham exceeded 50 FPTS in eight of 11 games.
Other Options: Devin Booker ($9,600), Josh Giddey ($9,200), Derrick White ($8,300)
Value
Collin Gillespie, Phoenix Suns vs. Sacramento Kings, $3,800
After losing Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal this offseason, the Suns will begin this season without Jalen Green (hamstring), who is the player Phoenix acquired for Durant. With the new-look Suns missing Green, Gillespie should see a sizable role off the bench for this thin Phoenix club and this is a plus matchup, after the Kings finished 22nd in defensive rating last season.
In the four games he played without Durant and Beal last season, Gillespie generated 24.3 FPTS in 22.8 minutes per game with a 19.5% usage rate and it’s safe to expect a similar result from the 26-year-old tonight.
Other Options: Kevin Porter ($6,500), Tre Jones ($4,000), Brice Sensabaugh ($3,700), Walter Clayton ($3,000)
Forward
Stud
Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers, $8,900
Brown (hamstring) is listed as questionable, but he is likely to play after getting a full practice in on Monday. Given the questionable tag and the size of this slate, Brown should naturally come with low ownership tonight and he is an elite target with Jayson Tatum (Achilles) sidelined. As one of the top duos in the league, Brown and Tatum lead Boston in usage by a comfortable margin and when one of these stars is out, the other benefits greatly with an expanded role and Brown should be in store for a career season with Tatum likely out for the majority of the season.
In the 10 starts Brown made with Tatum inactive last season, Brown led the Celtics with 45.9 FPTS per game and a 30.8% usage rate, which was a 1.5 percentage point increase from his average. Additionally, Brown led Boston with a 30.3% assist percentage in these games, which was a massive 9.8 percentage point increase from his average. With Joel Embiid available, the 76ers will be solid defensively, but on his home floor, Brown has 50 FPTS upside in this season opener.
Other Options: Giannis Antetokounmpo ($11,100), Anthony Davis ($9,700), Trey Murphy ($7,500)
Value
Guerschon Yabusele, New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, $3,800
The Knicks begin this season shorthanded, with Josh Hart (back) and Mitchell Robinson (ankle) out. Karl-Anthony Towns (quad) is also questionable, but feels likely to play. With Hart and Robinson sidelined, Yabusele has a chance to start for New York in his debut for the team, but starter or not, the French professional should see 25-30 minutes with the Knicks depleted in the frontcourt and that number would grow even further if Towns was a surprise inactive.
Yabusele supplied 0.9 FPTS per game with the 76ers last season and he was a strong fantasy asset when handling a large role with the team to close the season, averaging 30.7 FPTS per game in his final five. His $3,800 price tag is way too low for Yabusele in this situation and he is an easy choice for all formats tonight.
Other Options: Michael Porter ($6,700), Ryan Dunn ($4,300), Saddiq Bey ($3,600), PJ Washington ($3,000), Ziaire Williams ($3,000)
Center
Stud
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics, $8,700
Embiid was able to play and perform well in the 76ers’ final preseason game, and the former MVP isn’t listed on the team’s injury report for tonight’s season opener vs. the Celtics. These are very encouraging signs for the fragile Embiid and the high-usage center will find himself with an even larger role than usual Wednesday with Paul George (knee) out.
Embiid played one game without George last season and he posted a triple-double of 62.3 FPTS in that contest. With George off the floor last season, Embiid led the 76ers with 1.4 FPTS per minute and a mammoth 35.7% usage rate. As for this matchup, Embiid is facing a Celtics team that no longer has either Kristaps Porzingis or Al Horford in the frontcourt. Boston is likely to start Neemias Queta at center tonight and overall, the team is extremely thin when it comes to big men this season. The Celtics aren’t going to have an answer for Embiid and he should have a huge performance of likely over 50 FPTS in this spot. Embiid’s salary was never lower than $9,400 last season and he is an incredible value at only $8,700 tonight.
Other Options: Victor Wembanyama ($10,900), Karl-Anthony Towns ($8,500, if active)
Value
Dario Saric, Sacremento Kings at Phoenix Suns, $4,000
The Kings will be without Domantas Sabonis (hamstring) and Keegan Murray (thumb) tonight, and Saric should garner 25-30 minutes off the bench in this situation. The veteran should operate as one of Sacramento’s main big men and this is a strong matchup vs. the Suns, who finished 27th in defensive rating last season and have a bunch of new faces in town this season.
With the Nuggets last season, Saric provided 0.8 FPTS per minute and he scored at least 20 FPTS in all nine of the games he cracked the 20-minute mark. The former lottery pick should have no trouble surpassing five-times value tonight and Saric shouldn’t be a popular pick.
Other Options: Neemias Queta ($5,000), Jock Landale ($4,000), Luke Kornet ($3,900), Marvin Bagley ($3,100)
